« Legal challenge in VA | Main | Brady chapter head: too many gun shows »

MAJOR article on ATF

The Arizona Republic has one major story about BATFE, from the inside, as it were.

"Dobyns, among the most celebrated agents within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, has lived on the edge from the beginning of his career.....

In grievances filed with the ATF, Dobyns claimed the agency failed to protect him when he was threatened in the line of duty and then harassed him when he complained about the lack of security. He has submitted a multimillion-dollar claim alleging the bureau ignored death threats against him and his family.

According to a grievance Dobyns filed in May, ATF administrators sought to undermine his credibility by spreading false allegations that he was psychologically unfit for duty and a danger to himself or others. Dobyns alleged in that 83-page record that he was subjected to unwanted transfers, denied security, accused of fraud and blocked from getting a Medal of Valor.....

Vincent Cefalu of Modesto, Calif., a 20-year agent with grievances pending, recently sent a letter to Sullivan complaining about "unethical practices and widespread distrust." ...

Billy Queen, a former agent who wrote Under and Alone, a book about his infiltration of the Mongols biker gang, said he retired in 2003 after enduring four years of harassment from ATF administration. Queen said he still loves the bureau but believes it is beleaguered by incompetent bully managers...."

· BATFE